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With a complete and highly successful wedding now behind us, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming but with a twist:

From here on out, I aim to have much more frequent posting. However, most of these posts will be more bite-size in nature, while larger, in-depth posts (i.e. Ear Training Revisions) will be interwoven as seen fit.

On with the show:

Today I share my newest iteration of the classic list of Top Bands. Usually one would expect a nice, even top 10 list, but with so many great groups/artists out there, I can’t bring myself to whittle it down to less than 15. Bear with me – the additional five deserve to be on here and then some.

To go along with the bands (and to provide a bit of visual interest), I’ll be posting album covers of my favorite album(s) from each group.

Here we go:

#15 Bob Marley – Albums: Too many to cho0se from, so here’s my favorite, four-disc set that sums his massive catalog of work up nicely: Songs of Freedom

#2 Eels – Albums: Daisies of the Galaxy and Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

#1 The Beatles – Albums: The White Album and Abbey Road

So there you have it: 15 bands and 28 albums. If you haven’t had the good fortune to partake in any of these, all I can say is drop whatever activity you currently find yourself participating in, flips on your speakers, and prepare your ears for sheer brilliance.

So instead of one topic today, I’m going to provide some bullet points regarding a number of different musical categories. Nick Goodrich, co-leader/founder of Lindby, is getting married this Saturday, so life is a little crazy to say in the least. Expect a return to full-length blog posts next week.

Jared Arnold’s, Lindby’s now ex-drummer, last show occurred this past Friday at the Cellar out in Fort Worth. I have never seen that venue as packed as that night. People dancing, screaming, rocking out, and just having a good time from the looks of it. We wrapped up the night with the proverbial passing of the torch by having Jared pass off drums to the one and only Tanner Brown (check out the Events page for the next opportunity to see Tanner rocking out with us). Expect some pictures (and possibly some HD video) soon.

This past Sunday, Mel and I went out to Campania in Southlake to see Mike Springer, my piano teacher, and Andy Sperandeo, my former guitar and voice teacher, play in a jazz trio and enjoy some delightful food and drinks. The coolest part is that the trio performed up on the top floor, which turns out to be a roof patio. After the hottest summer on record, listening to some jazz on the roof of a building with a cool autumn breeze seemed just about right.

Only partially musically related but still important: I began reading the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. Once I finish it, I’ll likely do a whole blog post about it, but even though I’m only two chapters in, I can safely say it’s becoming one of my favorite books ever.

Lastly, I just ordered all of the top rated, early Black Sabbath albums from Amazon. Why not just download them form iTunes or listen to them on Rhapsody? Because they aren’t on there (and no, I won’t be pirating them because, as a professional musician, it’s hard to think of a better example of irony than stealing music)! Amazingly, the only Sabbath that I can find in digital form is during the Ronnie James Dio years. Nothing personally against Dio, but no thank you. Ozzy forever. Plain and simple. I’ve only ever listened to their second album, Paranoid, and have always loved it. Yes, it’s metal, but only part of the time. Sometimes it’s just psychedelic madness or just awesome instrumental jams. I am quite pumped for this package to arrive.

So there you have it: Lindby, jazz, amazing books, and Black Sabbath. That should do for now. Off to pick up my groomsman tux!